Custom Bats Cricket Forum

Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: brokenbat on December 31, 2018, 05:01:01 PM

Title: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: brokenbat on December 31, 2018, 05:01:01 PM
I knew I was opening pandora’s box when I started measuring the width of bats I owned/bought. Some have been bang in line with standard 108mm width (B3, NB LE, Laver), while others have been quite a bit thinner (Indian bats, and… much to my surprise, even a few GM player editions!!!).

Cricket being a mind game, its hard to not let this get to you (“what if I cut the ball, and instead of flying over slips, its just a thin feather to the keeper?”). Wondering if I am the only one with this problem, or if there are others obsessed with this?
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: brokenbat on December 31, 2018, 05:08:25 PM
I knew I was opening pandora’s box when I started measuring the width of bats I owned/bought. Some have been bang in line with standard 108mm width (B3, NB LE, Laver), while others have been quite a bit thinner (Indian bats, and… much to my surprise, even a few GM player editions!!!).

Cricket being a mind game, its hard to not let this get to you (“what if I cut the ball, and instead of flying over slips, its just a thin feather to the keeper?”). Wondering if I am the only one with this problem, or if there are others obsessed with this?

A small sample:
B3s: 108mm
NB LE (bought from Aus): 108mm
Laver (i have owned a few): 107.5mm
SF Black Edition: 106mm
SS bats: 107mm
CA bats: Range from 106.50 to 107.5mm
GM Player Editions: range from 106.5 (!!!) to 107.80

Of course this raises the question...how narrow is too narrow, and where does one draw the line?
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Novak on December 31, 2018, 05:16:44 PM
Fascinating stuff

Bats seeem to vary from 107 to 108 and perhaps a touch less 106.5

Guessing a mm here or there is normal margin for error when cutting ..
I'm not going to be one to make comment if it's important to you that's all that matters. I guess on your day 105mm will be more than enough and on a bad day even 112 mm would not suffice

Nice thread :)
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Neon Cricket on December 31, 2018, 06:05:07 PM
All about that extra 2mm, could make all the difference between middling the ball and snicking off for the 12th consecutive week
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Cholrudee on January 01, 2019, 12:04:42 AM
2mm can also be applied to the size of cricket balls being used.
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: delazy on January 01, 2019, 02:10:00 AM
ive had 2 bats which measured narrow...

Grove Majestic 105mm-106mm (with factory fitted scuff sheet and taped edges)
Hitman Kohli Profile 104mm-105mm ***part of the early 2018 hitman debate***
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: LateBloomer on January 01, 2019, 03:40:59 AM
Interesting topic.

To go further down the rabbit hole - if 2mm is such a negligible measurement are there any bat makers on here that would if requested make wider bats than the legal maximum? Some do, after all, make Lams and bats that dont fit through the gauge
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: potzy248 on January 01, 2019, 05:26:15 AM
Interesting topic.

To go further down the rabbit hole - if 2mm is such a negligible measurement are there any bat makers on here that would if requested make wider bats than the legal maximum? Some do, after all, make Lams and bats that dont fit through the gauge

Might get an edge behind when you otherwise wouldn't... :o

Funny debate alright.
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: delazy on January 01, 2019, 05:39:27 AM
In both occasions I received narrow bats as mentioned earlier they were sent back/refunded...

while only a couple of mm as people have suggested it was absolutely a mental confidence thing for me...

both bats were noticeably narrow at a glance which then led me to verniers/comparing to other bats...
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Cholrudee on January 01, 2019, 06:08:55 AM
Interesting topic.

To go further down the rabbit hole - if 2mm is such a negligible measurement are there any bat makers on here that would if requested make wider bats than the legal maximum? Some do, after all, make Lams and bats that dont fit through the gauge

Sitonit was keen to get some 120mm wide bats made up when starting out his batting cage project 2 years ago.
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: KW9221 on January 01, 2019, 06:13:29 AM
I don’t have any individual “match” bat, I use different one every week. I didn’t want to rely on any single bat and it helped me adjust to different width and length blades.
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Australian fast bowler on January 01, 2019, 11:08:42 AM
had this debate tonight, my match bat for 2day and 1day games is 108mm.
my t20 bat i measured tonight is 102, it was 106 but few seasons of sanding back is now 102

I hit the ball probably out of the middle more and have used in the back half of the seasons the last 2 years, we have t20s around christmas.
i barely notice it while batting or in the nets.
I compare it to the GM Kaha which i just got and it is 108 and almost feels to wide for some reason
pic of my 3 blades, SG is actually a LEKKa TPX t20
Mids International Players bat, GM Kaha 404
(https://i.postimg.cc/PxWFCJy5/width-bat.jpg)
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Novak on January 01, 2019, 12:17:14 PM
The mids looks stunning but also looks longer ... Are my eyes playing tricks
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Number4 on January 01, 2019, 12:38:33 PM
The mids looks stunning but also looks longer ... Are my eyes playing tricks

The other 2 are short blades
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Australian fast bowler on January 01, 2019, 01:07:41 PM
The mids looks stunning but also looks longer ... Are my eyes playing tricks
yep other 2 are both 525mm
mids is Standard SH length
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: FattusCattus on January 01, 2019, 02:00:02 PM
Seriously?!!! 2mm off a bat width makes a difference? Isn’t that like 2.5% or something?

I need all the help I can get yet I’ve hit some of my biggest ‘moos’ with a thinner bat.

I say get on with it, stop overthinking it and hit the spherical thing with the sticky thing!

2mm indeed - if you’re missing 2 inches - that’s when you need to worry!!!
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: six and out on January 01, 2019, 02:27:16 PM
Seriously?!!! 2mm off a bat width makes a difference? Isn’t that like 2.5% or something?

I need all the help I can get yet I’ve hit some of my biggest ‘moos’ with a thinner bat.

I say get on with it, stop overthinking it and hit the spherical thing with the sticky thing!

2mm indeed - if you’re missing 2 inches - that’s when you need to worry!!!

Cat I like your post sooooo much.

I realise this is can be important to some people but come on!!

Quite simply don't measure it! It's 2mm... What about rounded edges, where's the edge then?

For every ball you miss because you haven't got that 2mm, there would be a ball you would nick with the 2mm added on.

You simply adjust with what's in your hands, what's important is that it feels right and goes well etc...
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: brokenbat on January 01, 2019, 02:38:26 PM
Seriously?!!! 2mm off a bat width makes a difference? Isn’t that like 2.5% or something?


@FattusCattus I love your posts. the difference is actually 1.8%. but just to put "only 1.8%" in perspective - if your (or mine) DNA was "only 1.8% different", you'd be a full fledged Chimpanzee instead of a human :)
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Chad on January 01, 2019, 03:09:54 PM
I think it's mostly in the mind, but I like my bats to be no narrower than 104mm, and prefer it to be 106 - 108mm. Mostly because that's probably the narrowest bat I've played with in my life. Ideally you shouldn't need the outer 10mm on each edge, and would be about to middle most deliveries, but I'm not that good, so eh. :(

With the new size restrictions in place, there shouldn't really be any need to narrow down a bat to get it to be big and light, as it can only be so big. The only reason I can think for you wanting a narrowed down a bat other than weight issues is if you want larger than 40mm edges to meet your preference for a THICK edge and for it to still fit through the gauge.  ;)

Anyone with some knowledge of aerodynamics know if narrowing down a bat could have much effect on the aerodynamics? And if so, how much narrowing would you need for let's say, approx 10% increase in bat speed?
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: FattusCattus on January 01, 2019, 04:16:32 PM
I’d like a bat at 125mm wide. I’m pretty sure that would play on my mind when batting.
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: JK Lewis on January 02, 2019, 01:52:37 PM
I’d like a bat at 125mm wide. I’m pretty sure that would play on my mind when batting.

@FattusCattus I have this piece of willow in the workshop today. Just say the word and I'll cut you a cleft that's about 7 inches wide.  ;)

(https://i.postimg.cc/cC7Bwm8r/20190102-112634.jpg)
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Buzz on January 02, 2019, 03:48:43 PM
Lovely cleft that.
Not sure that it is all that safe showing @FattusCattus a tape measure extending that far, however.
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: FattusCattus on January 02, 2019, 05:05:25 PM
How wide are stumps?
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: JK Lewis on January 02, 2019, 07:18:18 PM
How wide are stumps?

9 inches bud. What guard do you take?
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: CricketXI on January 02, 2019, 07:30:02 PM
Can narrowing be due to the climate and weather changes, like during rain the wood swell up a bit so this may contribute towards the width reduction once the Sun is out.
May be during the manufacturing the wood is already swelled up and the wooden piece they use to measure the width also gain few MM(s) may be the cause this issue and once the wood start drying out the access moisture; the actual bat (end product) starts losing some of the width as the result.
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Sitonit on January 02, 2019, 08:33:02 PM
Sitonit was keen to get some 120mm wide bats made up when starting out his batting cage project 2 years ago.

lol haha .. not exactly 120 but I guess 115 or something? I don't really remember the exact #.
But with the promise of not mentioning the manufacturer's name and no sticker on the bat, I was able to get one custom made in 112 mm.

It was then sold to a forum member - another mystery.  :D

This was a good 7+ years ago I think.
Title: Re: Bat width - narrow vs standard
Post by: Sitonit on January 02, 2019, 08:37:40 PM
@FattusCattus I have this piece of willow in the workshop today. Just say the word and I'll cut you a cleft that's about 7 inches wide.  ;)

(https://i.postimg.cc/cC7Bwm8r/20190102-112634.jpg)

Seriously, I am open to the possibility of 115 mm face width for the bat in long blade, round handle, reasonable concaving, 35 mm edge and weight not more than 2 lbs 10 Oz.
Do you wanna give it a shot?